Car-platform-operating device.



PATENTED'OGT. 25, 1904.

J. J. OOTTINGHAM. CAR PLATFORM OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLIOATIONIPILED'JULY 16, 1903.

no MODEL.

aiiimnmw Q-vifucmu UNITED STATE Iatented October 25, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSHUA J. COTTINGHAM, OF WASHINGTON, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOCALEB G. MERRITT, OF-WASHINGTON, INDIANA.

CAR-PLATFO M-0PEIAT|NG DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 773,002, dated October25, 1904.

' Application filed J lly 16, 1903. Serial No. 165,830, (No model.)

1'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSHUA J. OOTTINGHAM, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Washington, in the county of Daviess and State ofIndiana,have inventeda new and useful Car-Platform-Operatin'g Device, ofwhich the following is a-specification. I

This invention relates generally to car-platforms of vestibule-cars, andmore particularly to the means for raising theside' portions of the saidplatforms, said side portions beingthe hinged trap-doors arranged ateach side of the main platform and which are. adapted to close down overthe steps, making a platform the full width of the car.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved means for liftingthe said doors and on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a detail holdthem elevated, thereby avoiding the necessity of catches or fastenersfor the purpose of holding the said doors open, as is the practice atthe presenttime.

With this object in view my invention con:

sists, essentially, in providing a lifting-lever I Fig. 2 is a'sectionalview, partlyin elevation,

showing the lever and the spring-actuated mechanism connected therewith.Fig. 3 is an end view of the lifting-lever, the hinged por' tion of theplatform being shown in a lowered or horizontalposition. I Fig. 4 isadetail sectional View showing the endof the door, the means forfastenlng the sa d door belng shown in elevation. Fig. 5 is adetailsectional view sectional view on the line 6, 6 of Fig. 2.

Referringto the drawings, A indicates the end of an ordinaryvestibule-car, .B the main platform, and 0 one of the hinged sections'ofthe platform or trap-door, there being two such doors, one at each sideof the main platform B, said door being hinged, as shown at C, to theend of the car-body and adapted to be turned down to a horizontalposition for the purpose of covering the steps and providing a platformthe full width of the car. The free. end of the trap-door O rests upon astrip or sill D and is thereby prevented from dropping lower than ahorizontal position, and when in such position the keeper-plate E,arranged upon the lower face of the trap-door, is engaged by the spring-actuated locking-bolt F, thereby securely locking the trap-door o'rhinge-section of the platform when in a lowered position, saidspring-actuated bolt being arranged in a suitable casting or housingsecured to the sill of the vestibule,and for the purpose of disengagingthis bolt whenever it is de- I sired to raise the door I employ abell-crank lever Gr, pivoted at G and having a bifurcated lower end Gwhich straddles the rear end of the locking-bolt and engages atransverse pin G passing therethrough. Thus it is obvious that bypressing down upon the bell-crank lever with the foot thespring-actuated locking boltis withdrawn from the keeper and the trapdoor or hinged section of platform is ready to be raised. Investibule-cars as now constructed these trap-doors or hinged sections ofplatform are pulled up by hand, andit req uires considerable strength tomove them up to a vertical position, and after being so elevated theyare fastened in an open position by means of suitable catches orfastening de vices. I propose to remedy these defects and provide aspring-actuated lifting mechanism 'which will automatically lift thetrap-door the moment the. lockingbolt ,is withdrawn from the keeper, andin order to accomplish this I employ'a lifting-lever H, which is mounted'upon the end of a horizontal shaft 1, the outer end of said shaft beingpolygonal in cross-section, as shown at I,

to fit the polygonal-shaped opening produced in the'end of thelifting-lever. The shaft I is mountedin the timbers directly beneath themain platform B, and surrounding this shaft I- is a coil -spring K, theinner end of which is fastened to the car-timber L by means of a bolt Mpassing through said timand adapted her, and the opposite end of thespring is adapted to be passed through one of the perforations N of theplate N, which is mounted upon the polygonal-shaped end of the shaftupon the inner face of the lever H, said plate having a plurality ofopenings, so that the tension upon the spring can be varied by changingthe outer end of the spring from one perforation to another. For thepurpose of protecting this spring from dust, dirt, and the elements Iarrange the same in a metal pipe 0, having perforations O in the lowerside thereof to permit the escape of any dust, dirt, or other matterwhich might accumulate in the said pipe. The outer end of this pipepasses through the car-timber L and extends to the timber L, the innerend of the pipe being cut away, as shown at O to accommodate the innerend of the spring and the bolt for fastening the same. The inner end ofthe shaft is keyed to prevent any longitudinal movement of said shaft,and it will of course be understood that the lifting-lever is fixed uponthe shaft at the opposite end, so that all longitudinal movement isentirely prevented.

The free end of the lifting-lever H carries an antifriction-roller H,which travels upon the under side of the trap-door when the said levermoves upwardly for the purpose of lifting the door, it being understoodthat the tension of the spring is sufficient to swing the leverupwardly, and inasmuch as the said lever bears upon the under side ofsaid trapdoor said trap-door will be moved upwardly in a verticalposition, as shown in Fig. 1, and held there by the action of thespring. In order to provide for an easy action of the lever and roller,I prefer to attach an angleplate I to one edge of the trap-door, the endof the lever and roller traveling in the groove produced between theflange of said angleplate and the edge of the trap-door, and, ifdesired, the edge of the trap-door may be protected by means of a metalstrap or plate P. Thus it will be seen that all wear upon the doorproper is prevented and a smooth guideway is provided for the free endof the lever to travel in, thereby greatly facilitating the operation.

Figs. 1 and 2 show the positions of the various parts when the trap-dooris open, and 3 and t show the positions-of the various parts when thetrap-door is closed, and it is obvious that in order to close the doorit is only necessary to press downwardly upon the free end thereof, andthe keeper engaging the beveled end of the spring-actuated bolt willforce said bolt backwardly, and the moment the keeper has passed belowthe bolt its spring will force it outwardly, thereby locking theplatform in a closed position. \Vhen the bell-crank lever is pressedupon, the locking-bolt is withdrawn from the keeper and thespring-actuated lift ing-lever will automatically raise or open thetrap-door and hold the same in an open position.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a car, a hinged platform-section, and a s pring-aetuated lever,arranged beneath said hinged platform-section, the free end of saidlever being adapted to engage and raise the said hinged section.

2. In a car, a hinged platform-section, and a spring-actuatedlifting-lever the free end of which is adapted to engage the saidplatformsection, substantially as described.

3. In a car, a hinged platform-section, a spring-actuatedv lever thefree end of which is adapted to engage and lift said platform-section,and a spring-actuated bolt adapted to lock the said platform-section ina closed po sition.

4. In a car, a hinged platfornrseetion, a lever the free end of which isadapted to engage and lift said platform-section, and a springactuatedshaft upon which the lifting-lever is mounted, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a car, the combination with a hinged platform-section, of aspring-actuated shaft, a lifting-lever connected to said shaft, the freeend of said lever being adapted to engage the said platform-section andmeans for regulating the tension of the spring-actuated shaft,substantially as described.

6. 1n acar, the combination with thehinged platform-section, of ahorizontal shaft, a spring surrounding said shaft, one end of saidspring being rigidly secured to the car, a plate mounted upon the shaftand having a series of perforations produced therein, the other end ofthe spring being adapted to engage one of said perforations, a liftinglever mounted upon the outer end of the shaft, the free end of saidlever carrying an antifriction-roller and adapted to engage the underside of the hinged platform-section, the angle-plate connected to oneedge of the platform-section, the keeper-plate and the spring-actuatedleeking-bolt and disengaging-lever, all arranged and adapted to operatesubstantially as described.

JOSHUA J. CO1" INGHAV. \Vitnesses:

ADRIAN HAMnnsnY, \VAL'rnn S. WILLIAns.

